AP PhotoMichigan State tight end Charlie Gantt heads to the end zone for the game-winning touchdown on a fake field goal.

EAST LANSING -- The play, named after a movie, is called "Little Giants."

There was nothing little about it.

Michigan State scored a touchdown on 29-yard fake field goal pass from holder Aaron Bates to tight end Charlie Gantt, and the Spartans stunned Notre Dame 34-31 in overtime before a sellout crowd of 78,411 fans at Spartan Stadium on Saturday night.

"He’s got some guts," said a happy Bates of Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio, who made the call after having the team practice the play throughout the week.

"We knew Notre Dame wasn’t expecting it. That was the last thing anyone was expecting. Coach D likes 'Little Giants.' I think that’s the only movie he has ever watched."

It gave Michigan State (3-0) a happy ending over Notre Dame (1-2).

The play’s first option is running back Le’Veon Bell, but Notre Dame stopped him from getting upfield, which set Gantt into motion running up the sideline.

"I was thinking just catch it, do not drop this ball," Gantt said.

The Spartans were lined up for what would have been a 46-yard field goal attempt to tie the score at 31. Bates, a three-year starter at quarterback in high school in New Concord, Ohio, took the snap, stood up and lofted a perfect pass to Gantt running free in the Notre Dame defensive backfield.

"Execution that’s what gets it done," Dantonio said. "Aaron Bates, there’s a reason he is a captain, not just because he’s a good punter.

"To be honest, I made the call ‘Little Giants’ and I said a little prayer," Dantonio said. "I didn’t want to put that pressure on (first-year kicker Dan Conroy). I wanted it on us, or on me."

Michigan State won for the 10th time in the last 14 meetings between the teams, but it didn’t come easy. With the score tied at 28 at the end of regulation play, the Spartans won the toss for overtime and elected to play defense first.

Michigan State cornerback Chris L. Rucker made a big hit on tight end Kyle Rudolph on third down to force a field goal attempt. David Ruffer booted a 33-yard field goal to give Notre Dame a 31-28 lead.

Michigan State then took the ball for it’s turn. An Edwin Baker run for 2 yards and a 7-yard scramble by quarterback Kirk Cousins was followed a nine-yard sack.

"We can’t take the sack there, we have to throw the ball away," Dantonio said. "Sometimes it wasn’t perfect, but we ran the ball effectively, and we made some big plays on both sides of the ball."

Dantonio said he made the call on the final play as soon as the sack happened.

"We needed a special teams play and we got it," he said. "We said all week we had to have one big momentum play. We just didn’t know when it would come."

Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly called it a difficult loss for this team.

"It came down to one play, which Michigan State executed, and we did not," he said. "This was a game that went back-and-forth. It was a hard-fought game, and we came up short."

After a wild start to the second half, neither team could score in the final seven minutes, and that forced overtime.

Earlier, Cousins -- 23-of-33 passing for 245 yards and two touchdowns with an interception in the end zone in the first half -- waved wide receiver B.J. Cunningham deep on a broken play, and then hit him for a 24-yard scoring pass with 7:43 remaining in the game. That touchdown tied the score at 28.

Notre Dame had scored on a third consecutive possession of the second half with 13:20 remaining in the game to take a 28-21 lead. Quarterback Dayne Crist, who was 32-of-55 passing for 369 yards and four touchdowns, hit leaping wide receiver Michael Floyd over the head of MSU safety Marcus Hyde on a 24-yard pass.

The shootout many had expected happened largely in the third quarter.

The Spartans scored on the second play of the second half when Baker bounced outside through a big hole and raced 56 yards for a touchdown and a 14-7 lead.

Notre Dame answered in 1:49 and six plays though, and scored on a Crist pass to Rudolph.

Michigan State then answered with a six-minute drive that ended with two big plays by Bell, who finished with 114 yards rushing on 17 carries.

He bounced off the attempted tackle of Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o and turned a screen pass into a 12-yard gain. Then rambled 16 yards on the next play for the score and a 21-14 lead.

Notre Dame made good on its turn with the ball to tie the score again. The Irish went 77 yards with the touchdown coming on a Crist pass to wide receiver Theo Riddick.

The trading of touchdowns finally stopped as the third quarter came to a close with the score tied at 21. Michigan State was stopped on three downs at its own 18-yard line, and punted.

Michigan State’s defense made a late impact, stopping the Irish on four of their final five possessions and forcing the field goal in overtime.